Chargers don't play it safe

Chargers draft pick Larry English acknowledges honks from fans in a passing car as he enters team's headquarters. Defensive coordinator Ron Rivera said, &#8220;He's as good a person as you could want.&#8221; &#160; (Crissy Pascual / Union-Tribune)

Chargers draft pick Larry English acknowledges honks from fans in a passing car as he enters team's headquarters. Defensive coordinator Ron Rivera said, “He's as good a person as you could want.” (Crissy Pascual / Union-Tribune)

An eclectic mix of second-day picks completed the Chargers' draft yesterday, as the team added depth and mystery at a variety of positions.

Among the picks was a fourth-round defensive end built like a nose tackle who is from Jamaica by way of Canada.

With their final selection, the Chargers took a receiver who is in the hospital recovering from injuries suffered in an automobile accident eight days ago while he was on his way to pick up his mother from church.

In between came a slow running back, a smallish corner and a safety with a history of knee problems.

But for a team coming off its third straight division title, already figuring it will be better in 2009 just by virtue of many of its stars being healthy again, it was judged a fulfilling weekend.

“I feel good about the players, about the attack,” General Manager A.J. Smith said after a draft with a decidedly defensive bent that began with Saturday's selection of outside linebacker Larry English with the 16th overall pick. “ . . . We upgraded.”

After using their third-round pick to take Texas Tech's Louis Vasquez, a mammoth 6-foot-5, 325-pound guard who most likely will learn behind Kynan Forney at right guard, the Chargers went international with the first of their three fourth-round selections.

Going into the Great White North, they perhaps found in 6-3, 331-pound Vaughn Martin a player they can groom to be the replacement for the departed end Igor Olshansky – even if his size suggests he someday would be the heir to nose tackle Jamal Williams.

Martin, born in Jamaica, has been playing at the University of Western Ontario on a 110-yard field with 11 other players and three downs, but he is considered astoundingly strong and quick.

It seems unlikely, with so much to learn, that Martin can crack the starting lineup in 2009. But he will be put into a rotation with Ryon Bingham and Jacques Cesaire.

Martin, the first Canadian collegiate player drafted as an underclassman by the NFL, ran a 4.96-second 40-yard dash and did 44 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press at an on-campus workout.

“I'm excited to play American football, the American way,” Martin said. “ . . . I've always been a fast learner. It's not something I'm worried about. . . . I'm going to try to be a blank canvas.”

With back-to-back compensatory selections at the end of the fourth round, the Chargers took guard/center Tyronne Green and running back Gartrell Johnson. Both will be given the time to learn as backups.